New Employment Eligibility Verification Form I-9 Released

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has released the new version of the Employment Eligibility Verification Form I-9. Prior versions of the Form I-9 are not valid for use after May 7, 2013. Employers are required to complete the Form I-9 to verify an employee's employment authorization with information and documents provided by the employee. The new version of the form is a two-page electronically fillable document with a revised format that should provide an employer with additional guidance in completing the form. Additionally, the revised Form I-9 now has fields for the employee's foreign passport, telephone and email addresses. A new Form I-9 does not have to be completed for current employees. However, after May 7, 2013, an employer who wishes rehire or reverify an employee's employment authorization should not use the old version of the Form I-9, but should instead prepare a new Form I-9 using the revised version. The instructions to the revised Form I-9 also provide additional information for the types of documents that an employee can provide to demonstrate employment authorization. The USCIS has also issued a revised M-274, Handbook for Employers, Guidance for Completing Form I-9, which we encourage all employers to review. The revised version of the Form I-9 as well as the revised M-274, are available at the USCIS website at www.uscis.gov.